Russia pneumonic plague fears: Three Central Asian nations tighten borders

Three Central Asian nations have tightened their borders in the midst of Russia pneumonic plague’s outbreak fears following the death of a lab at a disease lab.

In the wake of growing public health concerns, foreign governments have stepped up efforts to conduct a check-up despite Moscow claiming that the 18-year-old researcher Daria Shipilova died from an “unidentified pneumonia” rather than the bubonic plague.

The death has prompted officials to put at least one hospital facility under quarantine. Around 200 people are under medical observation.

The first among three Central Asian nations is Kyrgyzstan which ordered heightened sanitary controls at all its border checkpoints in the aftermath of plague reports. People, vehicles, and cargo crossing the border are now subject to enhanced epidemiological surveillance.

Its Health Ministry declared, “These preventive measures were prompted by reports of a confirmed case of the plague in the Russian Federation.”

Uzbekistan also announced “taking measures to prevent the importation and spread of highly dangerous infections.”

Amid growing concerns over the situation in Irkutsk, Kazakhstan's Health Ministry has implemented preventive measures and stepped up sanitary-quarantine controls along its 4,750-mile border with Russia. Meanwhile, neighboring Mongolia has placed its Russian border regions on high alert.

Besides these nations, the US is also monitoring the plague situation. A White House spokesperson said, “The Trump administration is aware of the outbreak, is monitoring it, and is evaluating possible courses of action.”

The escalation in growing fears comes as more than 60 percent of Dario’s colleagues remain locked inside the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East.